Food That's Gold: Celebrate with Cajun Chile New Orleans Style

In between the festivities of the last week I had time to pour over a cookbook that I received as a wonderful gift from friends Lisa and John.

Chef Caroline White Brask

In between the festivities of the last week I had time to pour over a cookbook that I received as a wonderful gift from friends Lisa and John. It contains much history of a famous restaurant in New Orleans called Brennans and the book is "Breakfast at Brennans and Dinner too!" Historically it goes way back to the beginning of the French Quarter in the late 1700s and how the Absenthe House rebuilt itself over and over again throughout floods, fire and wars until the Brennan family took it over in the late 40s. Over nearly a century they created a legacy of fine dining in the French Quarter with several now famous restaurants.

The cookbook has many recipes that are the true Cajun, where the old French kitchen has been injected with the creole influence. A compatriot of mine who owns a New Orleans style dinner house summed it up by saying the French who settled used what local products were readily available to create their familiar recipes and that injection created this new cuisine called Cajun. Creole is the cuisine of the local parish and people who live there.

I headed down to spend time with the family in south county and thought how fun it would be to create a Cajun Chile to warm up the snow country people. Stopped to get the necessary ingredients on my shopping list: a chunk of beef, the creole seasoning, a package of Andouille sausage and the Creole trinity vegetables namely celery, onion and green pepper. This is a twist on chile as you know it but will fill bowls on a cold winter night with a new favorite. The creole recipes are usually accompanied with rice of some kind and I found that The Two Sister's Sticky Rice was fun to dip. Enjoy a little of the cuisine of our country.

Cajun Chile with sticky rice1 Dutch oven, a heavy kettle with a cover or a crock pot1/3 cup of butter1 white onion, rough chopped1 green pepper, chopped1 cup of rough chopped celery1 tablespoon chopped garlic1/2 bunch of cilantro or parsley, chopped fine1 1/2 cups of Andouille sausage or a spicy sausage2 cups fresh tomatoes or large can of chopped tomatoes1 small can of tomato paste1 quart or 4 cups of beef stock2 bay leavesCajun spice mixture that contains black, red and white pepper, paprika, salt and file made from the sassafras's plant2- or 3-pound piece of beef, bottom round, shoulder roast (or what is on sale)

Rub the roast with a liberal amount of the seasoning salt. Melt the butter in the Dutch oven or heavy kettle and heat over medium high heat. Sear the meat on all sides and remove from the kettle. Add the vegetables and the sausage to the kettle and sauté until the onions are shiny.

Add the beef stock, the tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves and the beef to the mixture. Cover and place in a 350 degree oven for two hours or place on the top of the cook stove and simmer for several hours.

This really works well in a crock pot for an all-day simmer.Prepare the sticky rice balls according to the package and serve immediately.Keep warm and celebrate the New Year.

"Food that's Gold" The first class of the new year is set for Saturday, Jan. 12, from 2-4 p.m. at the St. Mark's Preservation Square Kitchen, 300 Lane St. in Yreka. Chef will feature sharpening skills and how to cut time in the kitchen. Bring knives from home and learn to cut veggies like a pro. A half chicken turns into a three meal dinner. Call Chef at (949) 735-7420 for more information or to reserve a place. The cost is $20 per person. Email to meme_brask@yahoo.com.

I am pleased to announce a fun culinary adventure in the New Year that I will be teaching – "Food that's gold – wine pairings" at the new fun spot in Yreka, The Wine Bar on Broadway. The first class will be "Appetizers and Aperitifs" on Tuesday, Jan. 22 from 6-8 p.m. and for more information, stop and see Gail at The Wine Bar on Broadway as reservations are required.